Deputies hunt for senior wallet snatcher caught on camera in Mulberry

MULBERRY, Fla. (WFLA) – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is rarely at a loss for words, but a theft case in Mulberry has him searching.

He viewed the video of a woman in a sweater swiping a wallet from the checkout stand of a Dollar General Market in Mulberry. The woman in the video appears to be “up in age,” to be politically correct.

The victim, Connie Crow, was shopping with her granddaughter at the store on Dec. 19. She checked out, grabbed her groceries and went home. When she arrived, she realized her purse felt too light.

Something was missing. Her wallet.

She rushed back to the store hoping her wallet was still there.

“I figured it was there because I remember having it out and I knew it was there, so I was like, ‘lets go right back and see if they have it,'” she said.

But the thief had checked out and taken Crow’s wallet with her. After viewing the video, Sheriff Judd was in disbelief.

Was that really an elderly woman stealing that wallet?

“I just absolutely cannot believe it,” said Sheriff Judd, who followed up with a bit of advice for the senior snatcher. “C’mon grandma. What are you thinking? You took the lady’s purse with her Christmas money in it. I just can’t believe it. You’re old and crooked. Do the right thing and return the property and set the right example.”

Crow calls the theft an inconvenience. She says the woman made off with her cash, credit cards, driver’s license and other items that have to be cancelled or replaced. She already spent a few hours at the DMV getting a new license.

She, like the sheriff, wonders why a woman that age would stoop so low.

“Just heart sick and amazed that this woman would do that, you know?” said Crow. “You know, we teach our children and our grandchildren not to do things like that and to do the right thing. For her to be at that age and not do the right thing is totally wrong to me. “

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is asking for anyone with information about this theft or who recognizes the suspect to contact Detective Berganza at 863-499-2400.

Anyone with information who wishes to remain anonymous is urged to contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477) or visit www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com.